The Hindu Temple v1.c5.s2.22

v1.c5.s2.22

The identification of the Nakṣatras with the 32 gods, who are designated as Padadevatās, divinities of whom each occupies a square of the outer border of the maṇḍala, is made in the ‘Viṣṇudharmottara’, Pt. II. ch. XXIX. 18-30. There the names of the gods are listed, four in each of the directions and four in the intermediate directions. Then follows, according to the text, the list of the “stars”. These are enumerated in groups of eight, in the four directions. Their names are almost in every instance identical to those of the Padadevatās; they are not the names of stars, and only roughly correspond in their positions in the Vāstumaṇḍala with the presiding divinities of the stars (cf. Fig. on p. 32 and chart on p. 34).